Have a Little Faith in Me
by Roadrunnerz
Summary: David Hayward has just found out he's a father again and he realizes he needs someone to confide in. A David and Anna short story. Takes place after Anna left AMC.
1. Chapter 1

**Have a Little Faith in Me **

_Have a little faith in me  
When the roads gets dark  
And you can no longer see  
Let my love throw a spark_

_Have a little faith in me  
And when the tears you cry  
Are all you can believe  
Give these loving arms a try babe_

_Have a little faith in me  
When your secret heart  
Cannot speak not so easily  
From a whisper start_

_To have a little faith in me  
And when your back's against the wall  
Just turn around and you will see  
I will catch your fall_

_Have a little faith in me  
When the road gets dark  
And you can no longer see  
Let my love grow a spark_

**_Chapter One_**

_Paris, France_

A torrential downpour greeted David Hayward as soon as he stepped outside the airport terminal.

A flood of water cascaded down around him. It soaked him in the short distance from the terminal doors to the waiting taxi.

"_L'hotel Concorde LaFayette, sil vous plait,"_ David instructed the driver, trying in vain to shake himself dry before plopping down in the back seat.

The taxi driver scowled through the rear view mirror and took off without a word. Nearby cars honked and splashed them as they raced by. A crash of thunder made David look out the window only to see grey-black skies surrounding them.

'Welcome to the City of Lights,' he thought glumly. He ran a hand through his wet hair and stared at the tail lights of the truck in front of them, wondering what had possessed him to come here.

'You're here for a legitimate reason,' David reminded himself. He'd signed on, at the very last minute, to participate in a biochemical research conference. 'To attend seminars that have absolutely no relevance to my areas of expertise…' he thought cynically.

He'd spent the entire flight here trying to rationalize his decision. 'I came here because some of the world's top researchers are going to be here,' he reminded himself, just as another crack of thunder made him wince. The rain pounded against the windows of the taxi with such force that David thought it might break through the glass and pour inside at any given moment.

It was lie. He'd signed on for the useless conference not because it interested him, but because it was in Paris.

Because _she_ was in Paris.

He didn't know where to find her, or whether he'd even work up the nerve to try. But at least he could sink back in the seat and admit it now.

He was here to see her.

_Palais des Congres, Paris _

_The next day_

"Well, what do you know? Doctor Hayward! Who'd have thought!"

The tall, bald black man broke out into a toothy grin when he spotted David walking in the crowded hallway of Paris's palatial conference centre, the Palais des Congres.

David was genuinely pleased to see a familiar face. "Dr. Hathaway. It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Seven years," the black man answered. "Fresno General hasn't been the same without you."

David chuckled. "I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not."

Dr. Samuel Hathaway, virologist and father of four, slapped David on his back with a hearty laugh. "I didn't say I missed you, did I?"

"No, no you didn't…"

"So are you catching the big one at noon?"

David raised his eyebrows.

"USAMRIID's Anderson is doing a little spiel on Marburg as a biochemical hazard on US soil, " Dr. Hathaway explained. "I hear it's going to be standing room only." The black man looked at David's convention badge. "You need a green badge just to get in."

David eyed the security guards stationed near one of the convention centre's entrance. Security for the conference was unlike anything David had ever seen. He shrugged. "Guess that rules me out then."

"Security is mind blowing here, isn't it? Who'd have thought the French could give us a run for our money?" Sam pointed out with a chuckle. "Then again, wouldn't want any Al Qaeda creeps listening in when Anderson starts talking about filling smart bombs with filoviruses, would we?"

"No," David agreed, remembering now how talkative his ex-colleague was. "Guess we wouldn't."

The black man slapped him on the shoulder once more. "It's a real surprise seeing you here, Hayward. Familiar faces on foreign soil are always nice." He laughed, "And you can take_ that_ any way you want!"

David Hayward stood in the hallway as he watched his former colleague make his way to the seminar.

'You're not the only one who's surprised,' he thought. 'What the hell _am_ I doing here?'

Earlier this morning he'd planned to look for her.

All that it would have taken was a glance through the Paris phone book. He was sure her number was listed. And if it wasn't, there was still Robin Scorpio. He had her address with him, buried deep in a jacket pocket in his suitcase.

Instead, he did exactly what he had done in Pine Valley two days ago.

He fled.

And now he was here, attending a conference that didn't interest him in the slightest.

'This is stupid,' he muttered, slipping the bright orange conference badge off from around his neck.

"_Jean-Paul est deja statione pres de la troisieme sortie," _David heard a woman's voice announce behind him.

Although the language was foreign, the voice was as familiar as his own.

How was that possible?

David spun around with a gasp. "Anna?"

A pair of equally stunned, dark eyes turned around to meet his.

"David?"

She said something in French to the man she'd been speaking to, and David watched the man leave with a curt nod of the head.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I…"

He was too busy staring at her to answer.

Anna looked well. She looked calm and confident. She wore a stylish, dark blue suit while her long hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. "I…could ask you the same. How…I mean, with all the security how did _you_ get in here?"

Her lips lifted into a smile. "I'm one of the organizers of all the security you see."

"You are?"

"I work for a private security firm. We regularly help out Interpol and the DGSE with events needing large-scale security. Events like this one." Her fingers now played nervously with a set of keys she was holding. It was the only hint that seeing him affected her at all.

"And you?" she asked. "Are you here because your latest research involves bio-chemical weapons?"

He managed a smirk. "Uh…no. Not quite."

He watched as she lowered her eyes and turned away from him. "I… I should go," she said, scanning the hallway, making David wonder whether she was on the look out for terrorists. Or maybe she was looking for the man she just spoke to. Or maybe she was just avoiding his gaze.

If he didn't say something she'd leave.

Again.

He blurted out the words before they could get caught in his throat.

"I'm here because I found out I'm a father."

-

-Lyrics are from Joe Cocker's Have a Little Faith in Me


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Paris, France _

Anna Devane stared at him, hating the flood of memories that washed over her as soon as she saw him.

Love. Tears. Joy. The unbearable pain of loss. All of it was there in his unforgettable face.

"You're a father?" she managed, not sure she heard right.

"Back in college, I had…I had a one night stand…it was…"

Anna watched him struggle with the words as they tumbled out awkwardly.

"I was drunk. I barely remember it. But it turns out that one night led to a pregnancy. To a daughter. I have a daughter and I don't know what to do. Where to start…"

Anna shivered, clutching the keys she held in her hand. A daughter. She thought of Leora and wished she could disappear into thin air. Away from the crowded hallway. From David. From the memory of losing everything.

She hugged herself, noticing that the room suddenly felt unbearably cold. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't know who else to tell."

"I don't know what to say, David."

He reached for her arm, as if to steady it. "You don't owe me anything, Anna. But I would really like to talk to you, if you have some time."

"I'm sorry…I can't."

"Please?"

Anna bit her lips, knowing exactly what she needed to say. Hating that she couldn't.

"Alright," she said instead. "Meet me here at nine o'clock tonight."

He squeezed her hand.

"Thank you."

_Palais des Congres_

_Later_

It was still raining outside when David went back to the Convention Centre. He ran his orange convention badge through a magnetic screen under the watchful eyes of a security guard. Water dripped from his jacket onto the machine and its moisture set off an alarm. The frowning guard ordered him to re-swipe the card and an impatient man grumbled in line behind him.

"_Avancez!"_ the guard told him as soon as he saw a green flashing light. When David walked along the hallway, inside the glass building, Anna was the first person saw.

She smirked. "Are you causing trouble even before you're in the building?"

David blushed. "It's the damn rain."

She motioned towards the entrance he had just walked through. "Let's go."

David watched as Anna took out a handgun from her underneath her suit jacket and handed it to the guard. David wondered how it she kept it concealed on her slender frame.

The guard's stone-faced expression changed into a smile and he offered her a mock salute as he said good-bye.

"Where would you like to go?"

"It doesn't matter," David replied. "Anywhere but a patio."

It really didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was here with him.

"Alright," she said, waving an arm towards an approaching taxi. "Come with me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Rue Mouffetard, Paris_

David dug his fork into the lamb moussaka, surprised at how good it tasted. The restaurant was informal. Old, wooden tables were pushed together to cram in as many as possible into the dimly lit, crowded room. Travel agency posters of the Greek islands hung on the walls and David saw a mix of students, tourists and young couples seated around them.

It had a vibrancy that David liked, yet the restaurant was too crowded to be romantic or intimate and he didn't doubt that Anna had chosen it for that very reason.

"This is really good," he mumbled, between bites.

Anna agreed, taking the last bites of her souvlaki. She had taken off her suit jacket and rolled back the sleeves of her blouse. It suited the informal air of the restaurant.

A waiter stopped by to ask whether they wanted more wine and David nodded, watching the man pour the burgundy coloured liquid into their glasses.

"Robin brought me here one evening and I fell in love with the food."

"I can see why," David replied. "How is Robin?" he asked wiping his lips with a white, cotton napkin.

"She's good," Anna answered. "She spends an insane amount of time studying and doing lab work. But otherwise, she's well."

"The HIV?"

"Is under control, thanks to her drug protocol. During her last check-up the virus was nearly undetectable."

David smiled. "That's fantastic news."

"Yes," Anna replied, raising her head to meet his gaze. "It is. In many ways I feel like I've been a given second chance with her and I don't want to waste a minute of it." This time she smiled. "I feel like I'm getting to know her all over again."

David's expression darkened when he thought of the stranger that was his daughter. "I want that too," he said softly. "I want to get to know my daughter but I don't know where to start."

"Tell me about her," Anna prompted.

"She's beautiful and headstrong and completely unpredictable."

Anna grinned. "Of course she is."

"She's almost Robin's age and I barely know her."

"What's her name?"

"Babe," he replied.

Anna raised her eyebrows. "Babe?"

David's lip lifted into a smirk. "Here's where I point out that I had no say in naming her. It's short for Arabella."

"It's very pretty."

"I did something, Anna," he went on. "I did something to protect Babe. Something that Bianca will never forgive me for."

"I don't understand?"

David set down his fork, suddenly losing his appetite. "It's a long, sordid story but it ends with me doing something terrible to protect the daughter I hardly know."

"And?" Anna looked at him uncomprehending. "Is that why you came to Paris? So I could lecture you or set you on the straight and narrow?"

"I…I don't know." What _did_ he expect exactly? For Anna to have the right answers when he couldn't even ask the right questions? "I needed to tell someone…" he managed. "Someone who might understand."

"A friend," she offered.

David shook his head. "You're more than a friend, Anna."

"I would go to the ends of the earth for Robin…and would have for Leora. You don't have to justify protecting her if she's your daughter."

"But I haven't been a father to her!" he argued. "I love Bianca as if she were my daughter, and yet the minute I find out that Babe is my flesh and blood, it's as though all that doesn't matter anymore?"

"Yes," Anna countered. "Yes, that's exactly right. Because, regardless of whether you raised this woman or not, she's yours. Nothing can come between that kind of a bond."

David noticed that the lights had been dimmed now and he couldn't take his eyes off Anna. She was strikingly beautiful underneath the soft hue of light. A dark haired waiter stopped by to ask whether he could pour them a shot of ouzo. David nodded. "Please."

"Doesn't a parent do the _right_ thing?" he asked her, as the wine's strong scent of liquorice filled his nostrils.

"Except when the right thing could hurt your child."

David sighed. "I have no idea how to be a father. A good father."

He barely felt Anna's hand reach over to cover his.

"Yes you do."

He noticed that her expression darkened in the dimly lit room. "It's not the same," he whispered.

"It _is_ the same," Anna countered. "For the short time that we had our little girl you were the best father she could have asked for."

Even now, after all this time, he could hear the pain in her voice, audible, just as his pain was palpable, crushing his heart, as every recollection of his daughter did.

"I loved her so much…"

"You did and, in the end that's all that mattered."

David felt her squeeze his hand, grateful for the gesture. "With Babe it's different, I missed everything…her first steps, her first smile, her first tears…everything."

"It's not too late to love her."

David watched as Anna raised her glass to take a deep sip of the wine, pausing, as if weighing her words.

Her eyes narrowed, "I can't give you the advice you want, David. I can't tell you what will win her over or what will drive her away from you. Every young woman is different. There are days when I still question whether Robert and I made the right decisions with Robin, whether things would have turned out differently if we had changed our lives. Maybe if we had handled Faison differently, it wouldn't have ended the way it did…maybe," her voice broke as she spoke the words. "Maybe if we had been there for her then maybe she wouldn't have met Stone…"

David took his free hand and covered hers with it. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to come here and bring up things that would hurt you."

She brushed away a tear, "I know you didn't…I just want to say that you can't change the past, but you can love her now."

David nodded. "You're right."

A smile broadened her lips. "Well, of course."

He raised his glass of ouzo and clinked it with hers. "To the wisdom of your gender."

Desserts that David couldn't remember ordering where brought to their table by the same waiter that had poured the ouzo. Thick, layers of honey glazed phyllo pastry, sprinkled with pistachio nuts.

They ordered more wine to counter its sweetness and kept talking.

The words came easily now. Anna knew him, perhaps better than anyone did or ever would.

For such a long time, David had wanted the world to pass him by.

Yet tonight he wished that time could stand still. In this little Greek restaurant in the middle of Paris, next to the one person who understood. And who, with one glance or one smile, could still take his breath away.

"_Monsieur, Madame, on ferme en quinze minutes_," the waiter told him casually.

And it was only then that David noticed they were the only ones left in the restaurant. He glanced at his watch, shocked to discover that hours had passed since they arrived.

Anna yawned, drowsy from the wine and food.

"I completely lost track of time," David muttered apologetically. "You're working tomorrow aren't you? I'm sorry…that was selfish of…"

"It's alright," she said. "This was…it was nice. It felt good to see you again."

David paid the bill and watched as Anna fumbled with her blazer before sliding it over her shoulders.

"Let me call you a taxi," he offered, still wishing that he could stop the merciless hands of the clock on the wall.

"I'll hail one on the street," she replied.

The rain had stopped and it was still warm outside when they left the restaurant. The narrow streets were filled with students and tourists.

David watched as Anna flagged down a taxi, not sure what to say next.

"Thank you," he managed. "For seeing me tonight."

She kissed his cheek. "You're welcome."

"Will I see you again?"

Anna didn't answer and the cab driver honked his horn, telling her to either step inside or close the door and let him go.

"It's okay," David said softly, "You don't have to say yes."

Her eyes met his. "I've missed you."

He leaned in to kiss her again. Longer, this time. Deeper. "And I missed you."

She pulled him towards her, "David, stay with me tonight."

He didn't answer.

Instead he wrapped an arm around her waist as he led her into the waiting taxi, closing the door behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Anna's Apartment, Paris _

Anna held the cup of hot coffee in both hands, glancing at the closed bedroom door.

David was still asleep and had barely stirred when she got up to shower.

Her thoughts drifted back to the night they shared, raising the corner of her lips into a contented smile. For all the hours they'd spent talking at the restaurant, they had exchanged at most a handful of words in the hours that followed.

'We never needed words,' she thought. 'And no matter what happens next, what happened last night was wonderful.'

The sound of a key turning in her apartment door wasn't enough to shake Anna from her thoughts. Not until the door opened in front of her eyes and Anna saw Robin step inside.

Her daughter smiled, more awake and buoyant than anyone had a right to be this early in the day. "Hey, Mom."

"Hi sweetie," Anna said slowly, puzzled to see her here. "Did you say you were going to drop by?"

Robin rolled her eyes. "Breakfast, Mom! Remember I told you about this new place by the Metro stop? You told me you were working late today and we said we'd have breakfast there together. Don't tell me you forgot?"

Anna cringed, making Robin roll her eyes again.

"You did forget, didn't you?"

Her daughter sighed.

"One of these days you're going to get organized, Mom. I suppose I could wait until you get ready," Robin suggested, tossing her backpack off her narrow shoulders. "I'll drop my bag in your room…"

"No," Anna said, louder than she intended, as she waved her hand. "You can't go in there!"

It took her daughter's clever mind a mere second to register what she'd said. A smile played on her lips. "Mom…what are you saying? Who's in there?"

Anna blushed.

Robin's smile broadened. "It's a guy isn't it? Mom! Why didn't you tell me you're seeing someone?"

"I'm not…" Anna tried.

Robin wrinkled her nose, puzzled. "You mean there's someone in there you don't know?"

Anna groaned. "No…I didn't bring home a stranger if that's what you're…"

Robin laughed. "I wasn't…I mean, I don't think I was, and I guess if it is, it's okay. I mean, you haven't seen anyone since you've been here, Mom. But… okay, what I'm trying to say is, I'm not sure I understand."

"David," Anna explained. "David is in that room."

"David Hayward?" Robin asked, arching her eyebrows. "David, _your ex-husband_?"

"Yes. David."

All of a sudden, Robin's face lost all trace of amusement. "When did he come to Paris?"

"I ran into him yesterday, at the Palais des Congres."

"After all this time of not hearing one word from him, he just shows up here and weasels his way into your bedroom?" Robin asked in disbelief.

"Robin!"

"I don't get it, Mom."

Anna knew the root of the accusation that was in her daughter's voice, and because of it, she couldn't find it in her heart to fight back. Even so, she wished the words wouldn't have stung quite so much.

"I saw him at the Palais des Congres and we went out for dinner afterwards, that's all."

Robin turned an angry glare towards the closed bedroom door. "Obviously that's not all."

Warmth flooded Anna's cheeks. "Are you lecturing me?" she asked, her defenses finally rising.

"No, I'm trying to understand you," Robin replied, her delicate features making no effort to hide her frustration. "You left Pine Valley because you and David couldn't work things out and then he comes here, out of the blue, and…"

"No," Anna interrupted, correcting her. "You're wrong…I left Pine Valley because Leora died."

"It's been over a year, Mom!" Robin countered. "What did David do since then? Nothing! Not one phone call! Not one…'Hey, Anna how's it going? How's your life? Your job?' "

Anna shook her head, taken aback at the force of her daughter's anger

Robin was gentle by nature. She weathered most of the chaos in her young life with the grace of an old soul. Circumstance rarely angered her, but at the same time she fought for those she loved with a force that belied that gentle nature.

"Hey, sweetie…" Anna got up to put her arms around her, ignoring the bitterness in Robin's voice. "Please don't blame David for something that wasn't his fault."

Robin brushed off the attempted embrace, fighting back tears. "He has no idea, Mom! He doesn't know what happened. He doesn't know about your break-down, Mom, does he? That selfish idiot has no idea how much you needed him after you came here!"

Robin's words were swallowed up by an abrupt silence when she heard the opening of the bedroom door.

"No," David answered for her, as he turned to Anna. "He doesn't."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_Anna's Apartment, Paris, France _

"Robin," Anna said softly, shifting uncomfortably in her chair at the dining room table. "Would you give us a couple of minutes alone?"

Robin bit her lip, her cheeks flushing.

She stood close enough so that Anna managed the hug Robin had resisted a moment ago. "I love you. And I know what you're thinking, but this_ isn't_ what you think."

Robin nodded. Her gaze moved accusingly to David, still standing in the bedroom doorway. "Whatever you do, don't you dare hurt her again."

She bent down to pick up her back-pack from the floor and left the apartment.

"I'm sorry," Anna told David, when she was gone. "You shouldn't have heard that."

"But I did," David replied, sitting down at the table, next to her. "I'm glad I did." He ran a hand through his dark tousled hair.

"I wish you hadn't."

"She loves you very much."

"She does," Anna nodded. "But she's wrong to be angry."

"Why?" David challenged her, the last traces of sleep gone from his eyes. "She's right, isn't she? I never called to see how you were. Not once after you left."

"If you're guilty of not staying in touch, then so am I."

"You were always the strong one," he admitted. "When Leora died. I couldn't take it. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep…I couldn't breathe. You did everything, Anna. You chose the casket. You went to the funeral. You held both of us together."

Anna felt her throat constrict, as it always did when she allowed her mind to drift back to the days after Leora's death. She raised her eyes to look at the man she still loved, wondering if the shadow of their grief would ever leave them long enough to give them a second chance. "I did what had to be done. That's all."

"And then you left."

"I left because I had nothing left in me to give."

"Robin, said that you…"

"The first few months were bad," she admitted, lowering her eyes without letting him finish. Her fingers played nervously with her coffee cup. "It was hard and there were days I didn't think I'd ever be able to go back to being the person I was before she died. But I had Robin and then I went to spend some time with my sister in Hungary." Anna's lips lifted into a smile, "It's true what they say. Time is great healer."

"So is love," David added.

"We never lacked love," Anna said quietly. "Our little girl died and it was too much to bear. It was about too much grief, never about a lack of love."

"Tell me, Anna, do you think it's possible for us to overcome the pain of losing our daughter?"

Anna's gaze wavered and she wiped away a tear.

"I'm sorry…"

Anna shook her head, "Please don't be sorry. I don't regret last night. It felt good to have you in my arms again, even if it was just for one night."

"And now?" David got up and kneeled down beside her, running his index finger down her cheek, alongside the path of her tears.

"Now you go back to Pine Valley and you love your daughter." The words came easily and Anna felt neither malice nor regret by saying them.

"After last night, I don't know if I can leave you again, Anna," he replied with an unexpected honesty.

"Your daughter needs you, and I won't leave Paris or Robin. I can't go back to Pine Valley, David. You have to understand that."

David nodded, moving to stand up, his hand running along her arm until it rested on her shoulder, massaging it. "I do."

"I _will _miss you, David. I never stopped missing you."

"I'll miss you more," his lips moved to kiss hers. "I will come back to Paris."

She moved a finger to his moist lips, "Sh…no promises, okay?"

His eyes lit up, "Not a promise. A fact."

His arms enveloped her now, as they both sank to the ground, his lips exploring her body while his fingers clumsily pulled off unwanted clothing. He was neither as hasty nor as hungry as last night, but he nonetheless made love to her with a firm, unmistakeable need to make the memory last.

"I love you so much," she whispered, letting her skin soak in his touch, thrilled at the nearly forgotten sense of contentment that flooded her.

"And I love you, Anna," he managed, before allowing himself to drown in his longing for her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Paris, France_

Anna smiled a satisfied grin when she saw Robin sitting on the cobblestone banks of the Seine.

She was exactly where Anna thought she would be.

'You would've made a terrible spy, sweetie,' Anna thought with smile. 'Thank God for that.'

Unlike her impulsive self, her daughter was a creature of habits. Anna remembered a week before last Christmas, after having nearly failed a crucial exam, Robin had come here, to this very spot and she sat her, in her thick, cotton winter coat, brooding along the banks of the Seine, while staring at the Notre Dame Cathedral in the distance.

Although physically she was her mother's daughter, there were so many other facets of Robin that brought back endless memories of Robert. She had her father's stubborn sense of persistence. Her father's way of shutting out the world in brooding silence when it dealt her an unfair hand. Or when it, once again, took away something too precious to lose. Most of all she had her father's sense of justice.

Robin had taken all of the losses she shouldn't have endured and emerged a determined, compassionate young woman, unwavering in her ideals.

'I wish so much that you could see her,' Anna thought, as she walked towards her. 'You would be so proud of your little girl.'

Anna felt a selfish twinge of pleasure for having found her here. For again knowing her daughter well enough to anticipate her actions, as only a mother could.

"Hey there," she said, crossing her legs as she sat down on the cobblestone pavement next to Robin.

Robin fiddled with the straps of her bag, a half eaten croissant lying on a paper bag next to her. "Hey," she replied, her voice a mumble.

Anna saw a strand of hair fall down the side of Robin's face and instinctively reached over to brush it behind her ear.

"Are you still mad at me?"

Robin shook her head, raising her eyes to meet Anna's gaze. "I'm not mad at you, Mom." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I was out of line this morning. I'm sorry."

"You said what was on your mind," Anna said, pursing her lips in thought. "Sometimes that's for the best."

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know." Anna put her arms around Robin's shoulder, marvelling at her daughter's capacity for love, even in when angry.

"I just don't want him to hurt you again," Robin said softly. "I know he can, because you still love him, don't you, Mom."

Anna nodded. There was no point denying it. "I do."

Robin frowned, staring out into the river.

"But..." Anna said gently. "I need to explain something to you. I left Pine Valley because Leora died, not because David hurt me."

"He couldn't deal with it," Robin countered. "You said it yourself. He was inconsolable after she died. He couldn't even go to the funeral with you! Dad would never have…"

Anna bit her lip. "We lost our little girl, Robin. It was unbearable for both of us. David broke down first, and for me it took a little longer. There's no good or bad, or black or white, sweetie."

"But afterwards?"

"Afterwards he was the one who wanted us to try and make it work. I couldn't do it, Robin. I couldn't stand living in that cabin, in Pine Valley. I'm the one who left him, not the other way around." Anna lowered her eyes. "David couldn't help me after Leora died, and I didn't have anything left when he was ready to start again."

"And now?" Anna felt Robin's head leaning against her shoulder as she asked the question, "He's going to stay in Paris?"

"He left for the airport this morning."

Robin pushed away, staring at her in disbelief, "But after everything you just said, I thought…?"

"He came here to tell me that he has another daughter."

"A daughter?"

"A daughter he didn't know about."

"He came to Paris to tell you he has a daughter he doesn't know about?"

Anna laughed. "Am I hearing an echo? Yes, that's why he came."

"But you…?"

"I missed him," she said softly, staring at a Bateau-Mouche that passed by in front of them, full of tourists enjoying a sunny day on the Seine. "I asked him to stay with me last night, and he did. I'm glad that he did."

"And that's it?" Robin's expression was even more perplexed than it was this morning.

Anna didn't answer.

"That's not it, is it?" Robin pressed. "You still love him. Mom, do you want to go back to Pine Valley?"

Anna shook her head. "No, I could never go back there."

"So he is coming back here then?"

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

"But Mom, if you love…"

Anna squeezed her daughter's shoulders. "I'll tell you what I do know. I know I'm starving," she glanced at the half eaten croissant, lying on the paper bag. "And I know that little croissant couldn't have filled you up either. Why don't we go for breakfast somewhere not French? Preferably some place that has bacon and eggs and pancakes and maple syrup."

Robin laughed, getting up from the ground, "Dream on, Mom." She pulled Anna to her feet, "But we can always compromise and go to McDonalds."

Anna held on to her daughter's hand. "Tell me something, would it bother you if he did come back?"

Robin smirked. "You do know whether he's coming or not, don't you, Mom?"

Anna grinned and pulled her daughter towards her. "I didn't say that."

"If he makes you happy, then I hope he comes back," Robin said, her expression serious again. "You deserve a little happiness."

Anna smiled, as a gust of wind blew her hair into her face. "You do too, sweetie. Except wanting it to happen doesn't always mean it will."

"Not always," Robin smiled a conspiratorial smile as she picked up her pace. "But sometimes."

**The End**


End file.
